This Man's Tragedy Produced a New Business: LeanOnWe

This New Jersey executive, injured in a horrific accident in 2011, has now created a network for others who require full time care

In a turn of fate he could have never predicted, Wall Street executive Ron Gold found his life changed forever when a runaway vehicle plowed into Gold and his friend as they neared the end of a 50-mile bike ride. The accident left him paraplegic - paralyzed from the waist down - and his dream career on Wall Street, fitness activities, and life as he'd known it with his wife and children was now over, in an instant.

But the tragedy of his situation became even more real when he returned to his home after five months of surgeries and recovery. He now required full time home medical care. The hospital arranged for providers through an agency, but after six weeks, his insurance benefits ran out. To continue receiving care, he would have to cover the $25 per hour cost on his own. Worse still, as he investigated he discovered that home care providers are severely underpaid. Most make just $10-11 per hour through the agency structure, which accounts for the lion's share of the costs.

Clearly, the agency model is broken, he realized. And in most cases the people who desperately need reliable and more affordable care are elderly, Gold realized, making it even more difficult for them to find suitable care alternatives on their own.

Gold's discovery led to a big idea: with the help of a selected team he has launched LeanOnWe (www.LeanOnWe.com), an online network of home healthcare providers that have been vetted by the organization for experience, have been FBI fingerprint checked, provide a full bio, at least two references from people they have actually provided care for, and a 60 second introductory video.

Even better, without the high cost of an agency structure, the practitioners are paid on the average 50% more than they'd been receiving before. And if a practitioner is unavailable or ill, the patient can obtain a replacement through the network structure as well.

Gold formally launched LeanOnWe in March of this year with an inspiring presentation to his company members. So far, the company's network provides access to 200 providers in the New Jersey area, all 5 boroughs of Manhattan, and Greater New York, with 2,000 additional providers currently working through the vetting process to join the program as well. Ultimately, he would like to provide his program nationwide and potentially even worldwide to as many regions as possible.

In the meantime, he serves as a tremendous example to others whose lives have been affected by tragedy, in the ways to make his own life, even while affected by disability, a conduit of tremendous good for thousands of others as an impact-driven entrepreneur. Readers can find Lean On We through Facebook, Twitter @LeanOnWe, and at the company's website, LeanOnWe.com.

Ron Gold presents Lean On We at the company's formal launch event on March 29, 2015.